


Hold Your Babies Close (Hugs Everyday)

by CyberWolf_1013



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: ...Deal With It, ...My Personal Choice..., Adora is in Love with Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra) Fluff, Adora/Catra is Canon (She-Ra), Catra is in Love with Adora (She-Ra), Chapter 3 Goes Dark, Dark, Death, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt, Established Adora/Catra (She-Ra), F/F, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Finn Is A Boy..., Gen, It's Not All Sunshine, Married Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Parents Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Real Life, Sweet, Tags For Fluffy Turned Trauma, Watch That Last Step, baby finn, love and family, reality sucks, soft moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26995537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberWolf_1013/pseuds/CyberWolf_1013
Summary: This isn't a story of She-Ra and the princesses of Etheria. That has already been told.This isn't a story of how Finn came to be. That is something for another time.This is the story of a little family. Two loving parents and their baby boy. (Finn is a boy in this)=-=-=Adora and Catra's snapshots into parenting. The ups, downs, and everything going sideways.Finn as an adorable baby, growing into a stubborn little toddler, and dragging his parents along for the ride.
Relationships: Adora & Catra & Finn | Adora/Catra Child (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 100





	1. First Few Months...

**Author's Note:**

> So, one thing before we start:
> 
> Everything here really happened. Barring a few tweaks, ya know, for gay magical princess reasons (As cool as being magic would be). All this is from experiences with my own son. So, yeah, Finn is a boy because this is personal.
> 
> Happy 6th Birthday To My Son.💗

**1.**

Catra rushed to open the door to her and Adora's room. It was a cool morning in the Fall but that wasn't what made it special. The Magicat stood in the door and swept a quick glance around to make sure things were okay in the sunny room. The balcony doors had been closed to keep the crisp air outside. Then she turned to face the smirking blond standing behind her. "What? Cant be too careful, ya know." She grinned sheepishly and finally let the young woman through the door.

With a chuckle Adora followed Catra into their room. "Who would've thought you'd become such a worrier?" She huffed with a soft laugh. The tiny bundle in her arms was wrapped securely in a light blue blanket and Adora ran a gentle thumb over the soft furry face peeking out. "I guess we know who the overprotective parent is gonna be, huh, little one."

"Overprotective, yeah right? Says the woman who can lift a tank but makes me carry everything because she's got an eight pound ball of fluff in her hands." Catra smirked and dropped the stuffed baby bag next to the crib with a thump to prove her point.

Adora grinned and stage whispered to down to the baby still sleeping in the folds of the blanket. "Mama's just jealous that I got to carry you home."

"Hey, don't get me wrong kiddo." Catra grinned, walking over to the two loves of her life. "You and me, we're gonna have some fun together. Just maybe, not involving bots and lasers. Right?"

Adora leaned over to place a kiss, first on Finn's little nose, and then shared a longer one with Catra. "Yeah, definitely no lasers."

Catra flicked her ears as she noticed that Adora didn't exactly knock the idea of 'bots' specifically.

**2.**

Adora winced again and furrowed her brows into a frown in Glimmer's direction. The Queen's sympathetic smile didn't seem as genuine when she was shaking with suppressed laughter. For the fourth time since carrying Finn into the office where Glimmer kept her royal papers and files for different aspects of the kingdom Adora gently had to untangle her son's reaching fingers from the ends of her long hair. Before the interruption they had been discussing the possibility of Adora taking on a mission or two, to get back into the swing of things, now that Finn was a few months old.

"Maybe I should start wearing it up again." Adora groaned, now that Finn was happily gumming her fingers instead of trying to rip out her hair. She and Catra were already on the verge of doing that themselves, thank you very much.

Sometime after the reconstruction of Etheria began in earnest, post Prime, the Best Friend Squad had managed to persuade Adora to let her hair down a little. Both figuratively and literally. These days the blond would only tie back her hair during official functions or when she was traveling out of Brightmoon. She would leave it down and relaxed when it was just them in the castle.

"No way!" Glimmer loudly scoffed. "Do you know how long it took all of us to convince you that you didn't have to wear that ponytail all the time?"

"It wasn't that bad," Adora pouted in response. "Besides tha-yeow..." She suddenly gave a startled yelp as Finn couldn't resist determinedly tugging on the long bright strands of his mother's hair that had fallen in front of him again.

"It's gotta be better than this." Adora sighed in exasperation, setting to work on prying apart his tiny fingers- again.

**3.**

"Alright, Catra. You ready for this?" Adora asked with utmost seriousness. She was standing on one side of Finn while Catra took the other. Mismatched blue and gold met steel gray across the fussy baby in their center.

Catra nodded with determination despite the nervous twitch of her tail. "Yeah, ready for anything."

Nodding back Adora took a deep breath and made the first move. With a few seconds of work from her fingers the diaper was loosened, just like how she and Catra were shown, and they were ready for step two. Though unfurling the front of the cloth sent both confident women from "We've got this" to "Oh, gods, let's just get through this" in a matter of seconds.

Catra's tail was ramrod straight and fluffed out behind her. "By the stars, Adora, how does something so little let off a smell that awful?" The Magicat could barely get the words out as she was simultaneously trying to talk and hold her breath at the same time.

Adora's nose was wrinkled at the smell and she looked a little green but her lips were pressed in a determined line. "Wipe." She demanded and held out a hand to Catra. The wet cloth was handed over and Finn giggled as if he found the whole thing extremely funny. The rest of the change went on like that, with Catra passing over what was needed, until finally Adora fastened the clean diaper around the wiggling baby.

"Ha, success!" The blond scooped up the now clean bottomed boy and whirled him around in a mini-celebration. "That wasn't so bad, right, Catra?" Her partner nodded slowly.

Catra probably shouldn't admit to already planning multiple ways to get out of diaper duty for the foreseeable future. Maybe a long, policy filled, trip to the underwater cities of Salineas was in order.

**4.**

Adora headed back to her and Catra's bedroom after her evening run. It was nice to get out on the familiar track around the castle grounds she used to frequent before Finn came along. Then she had crossed paths with Bow who had stopped her to talk about some new upgrade to the tracker padd he was making her for when she would be out on missions again. Not that there was any rush, he assured her, and for once Adora didn't mind so much not being part of the action.

Needless to say that when the young woman slipped through her door she fully expected both wife and son to be asleep. The moons were up and the stars twinkling in the dark sky, well past Finn's bedtime, and Catra was always tired after a day full of meetings as Glimmer's top advisor.

To her surprise though Catra was sitting beside the crib in a comfy rocking chair and had a thick book on her lap. It looked like she was trying to read the baby to sleep but it didn't sound right to Adora. "The sun glinted off the steel of the sword as Gideon drew it from its sheath." Catra mimed the action of pulling out a sword and Adora covered her mouth to stop a shocked laugh from escaping. "The battle raged around him as the warrior rushed forward." Catra hopped to her feet and slashed with her invisible weapon along with the action of the book and only then did she notice her extra audience member.

"Hey, Adora." The Magicat straightened up with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks and snapped the book shut. "H-how long have you been there?"

Now laughing outright Adora just shook her head. "Just long enough to figure out that 'Gideon' needs help with his form if he's going to wield a sword." She walked over, ignoring Catra's annoyed huff, and ruffled the tuft of blond hair right between Finn's chocolatey brown ears. The boy let out a miniscule purr and nuzzled into Adora's hand as his eyes slowly blinked closed.

"Maybe you should hold off on the blood and battle type of stories till Finn's older, huh?" Adora suggested, still running her thumb over the baby's cheek as he fell asleep.

Catra shrugged halfheartedly and picked up a much thinner book from where it had fallen on the floor. "These Goose stories aren't any better," she whispered accusingly now that Finn was finally asleep. "I mean, geeze, talk about nightmares. Babies being blown out of trees. Bridges collapsing. Kids breaking bones while falling down hills. Who writes this stuff?"

Adora straightened, taking both the children's book and the war book from Catra, and wrapped her up in a comforting embrace. "We'll try again tomorrow night. Bow and Glimmer told me about a bunch of other children's fairy tales. A girl wearing a hood going to visit her grandma in the woods and two kids who find a house made of candy."

**5.**

Catra woke up to the feel of something wrong. A quick glance at the padd on the bedside table told her it was way too early in the morning for a crisis. It wasn't Finn that woke her either. All was quiet from the direction of his crib. Her tail swept up to see if Adora was awake but then came the realization. Catra was alone in the bed.

A shot of adrenaline had the Magicat bolt upright in a heartbeat. Her ears pricked forward for any noise and her eyes were sharp as she scanned the bedroom. The moons hung low in the sky which made the shadows deeper in the far corners but Catra's piercing gaze wasn't hindered at all. Then with an almost visible crash of relief Catra locked onto Adora when her eyes swept over the corner where Finn was set up. The tall blond was sitting in the rocking chair next to the crib. Her back was to the bed so Catra couldn't tell if she were awake or not.

Not wanting to wake the baby, Catra didn't call out, instead opting to climb out of bed herself and making her way over. "Adora?" Catra whispered.

When she reached the rocking chair the sight nearly made her cry. Damn feelings.

Adora was very clearly asleep, her head leaning on the back of the chair, and her robe haphazardly slipping off her shoulders. The moons outside cast just enough light through the balcony doors that her sleep mussed blond hair was almost silver. Finn slept, wrapped loosely in her arms. One hand cradling his tiny form and the other resting over his torso as if she were feeling him breath in his sleep.

For a full two minuets Catra stood there watching. Taking in the serene sight of the two peaceful sleepers and the moonlight playing over them and her heart felt too full to contain the love she felt at that moment. She debated with herself over moving Finn at all and possibly waking Adora.

Finally though Catra leaned over and gently lifted her baby from her lover's arms. Or, she tried. As soon as the tiny weight shifted in her hands Adora jerked awake and had a vice like grip on Catra's arm. "Hey, it's okay, Adora. Just putting Finn back to bed." In the blink of an eye recognition dawned on her face and her grip released just as fast. Finn didn't even stir as Catra laid him down with the blankie over him. Almost with as much care Catra then guided Adora back to their bed and climbed under the covers with her.

**6.**

The gardens of Brightmoon were getting chilly with the change in weather coming but the sun was out and the late afternoon was too perfect for Catra not to take advantage of. After Finn had his lunch but before nap time he was bundled against the chill and he was carried outside by his mom. The little guy was completely fascinated by the prickly blades of green under his paws and the only thing Catra had to watch for was his affinity for trying to eat the grass.

Thankfully, Catra had been done with meetings early today because Adora had really needed a nap. Finn had not been a good sleeper the night before. Though... in true baby style, his late night waking had no affect on the boundless energy he showed during the day.

Catra flicked her tail in front of those beautiful blue eyes and they widened in joy. He started babbling happily at her. Finn tried to grab Catra's twitching tail tip but she kept it just out of reach. It was good motivation for him to practice crawling, he was just a little scooter now, and in fact her and Adora had a bet going on for how long it would take Finn to be up and mobile. She had a sneaking suspicion that bet also included the royal couple, Bow and Glimmer. 

Little Finn made a lurching motion, got ahead of himself, and unbalanced in one move. His nose bonked into the cushiony grass as he tipped forward. His hands weren't quiet up to speed on what he wanted them to do or which direction to go. He looked up at her in mild surprise.

The kitten was nothing if not persistent though as he got his hands and knees under him once more. Catra couldn't fathom where that stubbornness came from. "Are you ready to try again?" She asked playfully. He bounced in answer.

By the time Adora came looking for them to put Finn down for his own nap the determined little guy was already haltingly chasing his mother's tail across the grass. At least he was spending more time upright than on his belly.

**7.**

Melog hadn't made much of a fuss when the new baby had come home with Catra and her mate. There was a lot of noise beforehand but the alien cat had seen no reason for it. Things like this were a completely different affair on their homeworld. All this jittery tension and anticipation made no sense and the one they had bonded with was practically dripping with these feelings. So, not to be affected by the feelings of nervous excitement, Melog left their new home in the castle for several days. Opting to travel the paths of the Woods until things had calmed down.

When the cat returned to Brightmoon there was a new presence waiting. No one paid any attention as they walked down the edge of the hall to where they could feel Catra's energy the strongest.

The bedroom door was open a crack so they let themselves in. The warrior was the first one Melog saw. Through the bond with Catra they were also connected, in a lesser way, to Adora. Glancing around for the energy they were searching for their gaze landed on the bed where Catra was sleeping. Confused about this, because it was still the middle of the day, they crept further into the room. She was okay. Judging by her calm energy, she was just asleep.

"Melog, there you are," Adora whispered from the chair by the balcony doors. "Me and Catra were wondering where you'd run off to." They rowled in response.

Knowing that Adora couldn't understand them Melog remained mostly silent as they wandered closer. Curiously, Adora held a blanketed bundle in her arms with a clearly observed love and care that Melog had not normally come to associate with Catra's mate. They mewed to get her attention and settled at her feet with a pointed look.

Adora chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Catra's just tired. It's been a busy couple of days." She reached over to scratch the alien cat between the ears. "So, are you ready to meet Finn?"  


She was scratching in just the right spot and Melog was lulled into a lazy comforted feeling. They didn't know any Finn connected to the castle or why they should meet this extra person. It wasn't like Adora could be questioned. Then the woman stopped scratching and Melog opened their eyes to see her slip from the chair and kneel in front of them with the blanket. "We should probably wait for Catra so she can talk to you but I don't see why you cant get a peek now." The blue feline tilted their head down to see the thing that was offered to it.

A small blue eye peered up from the folds of the fabric as Melog stared curiously. The other eye buried sleepily against the warmth of Adora's chest. Short tufts of sandy hair poked out from between pointed chocolate ears and the thin peach fuzz on the cheeks was a light tan. Was this thing the "Finn" they were supposed to meet? The baby so much talk had been about.

The helpless little creature certainly did smell of a mixture of Catra and her mate. Melog leaned in closer to get a better sense of it's energy but gave a surprised mew with a shake of their head when the baby reached out of the blankets and made a sloppy grab for the cat's twitching nose. The citizens on Krytis didn't reproduce in this fashion and so Melog had never seen a baby before. They leaned back and looked to Adora for reassurance this was supposed to happen.

Adora chuckled at the shocked look on the alien cat. "Since we're talking about half of Catra, I think that means he likes you."

**8.**

The dining room in Brightmoon was huge. Usually the long table was for extravagant dinners, formal occasions, or when the former Princess Alliance met up for their occasional "catch up" meetings. When it was just the Best Friend Squad and their small families then a smaller kitchen table was used. Though it was still longer than either Adora or Catra would consider necessary.

Finn was old enough to eat soft foods now and Catra and Adora were delighting in introducing new tastes and foods to the baby boy. The bottle was still a comfort that he clung to and Adora was in no hurry to take that away from him.

He was growing by leaps and bounds each day and was quiet the adventurous crawler by now. They also quickly found out one of his new favorite foods was applesauce. Adora really had no idea how versatile that snack was. In hindsight, she really should've had an inkling after the mashed potato incident. The sweetened mushiness, of course, could be eaten. It could be spread around his table mat in a weird food-art way. It could be used to disguise himself as an apple by smearing it all over his arms and face. And, most obviously, it could be flung at the nearest person as a squishy attack.

Adora groaned as sticky, sweet, fingers rubbed globs of applesauce in her hair as Finn reached out and grabbed the long strands. His own light fur was sticking up in spikes from his attempts to wear the snack instead of eating it.

"Finn, you're gonna need another bath before meeting with Netossa and Spinerella this afternoon." The blond grinned crookedly as she tried to mitigate the mess the boy was making...all over himself, herself, and anything within his short stubby arm's reach. For all her heroic efforts, however, to get most of the food into his mouth it seemed Finn was more interested in playtime than snack time. Adora flicked the stray bits of golden mushed apple off her cheek as proof of it.


	2. Speeding 1 To 4 In A Blink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn grows from a crawling baby into a bold and curious toddler.
> 
> It's not always a walk in the park being a parent, however, and all Adora and Catra can do is hope they're enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously overreached myself on this. _Ugh._ I picked the absolutely **wrong** month to try and post on a schedule. I had to move, got saddled with extra hours at work, and not to mention the ton of personal crap I'm dealing with now. 😫
> 
> Shortened this to only 3 chapters so I can at least pretend I'm finishing somewhere close to my self-appointed timeline.
> 
> May add the extra bits I've had to shave off in another installment.

**1.**  
Catra was utterly bewildered, not for the first time. She and Adora had been sitting and talking on a marble bench in one of the many gardens of Brightmoon. It rained that morning and everything was still mostly wet with gleaming puddles of water reflecting the clear blue of the afternoon sky. Finn was amusing himself at their feet. The adventurous little kitten was fascinated by the grass under his paws. He hadn't quite learned the finer points of walking so his major mode of transporting himself was still crawling.

So crawl he did. Not long after Adora put him on the ground and he got the bearings of his surroundings Finn scooted over a few feet to the nearest puddle of water and stared in awe.

Adora snorted in silent laughter as their son tried to poke at the water and wound up shoving his whole hand into the shallow puddle. This is where Catra's confusion came into play. She was a cat, a Magicat, but feline nonetheless. She hated water and assumed it was a natural instinct in her species. The sandy furred 1 year old was the exact opposite.

Finn's tail twitched excitedly as he splashed his other hand in the water and soon he was happily crawling in and out of the puddle of water and mud. His giggles brought smiles to both his parents despite the clothes that were currently being stained brown.

"I don't know what you're laughing about." Catra turned a teasing smirk on Adora. "You're the one carrying him inside. Have fun being just as wet as him."  


"Wha-" the blond gasped in mock outrage.

Catra's smirk widened. "Oh yeah, this is your fault, after all. Finn obviously didn't get his love of water from me. That only leaves your genes."

Adora's laughter rang out then and captured Finn's attention away from his adventurous exploring. "I guess that's fair enough." She said, raising her hands in surrender, and walking over to pick up the muddy and soaked kitten. True enough Adora's shirt was quickly splattered with mud and beginning to soak through where she supported Finn on one hip. She placed a loving kiss against the boy's head letting him know she didn't care about the state he was making of her clothes and hid a smirk in his hair as Catra came walking up beside them.

"You know, it's too bad Mama wont join us in the mess we're both making." Adora's gray eyes twinkled teasingly as she glanced at Catra while she murmured into Finn's ears conspiratorially. 

Catra's own ears twitched as she picked up on the something sneaky her love was planning. She just couldn't tell what it was. Then, too late, realized how close Adora had gotten.

In a single move that Catra could've easily avoided if Finn wasn't involved Adora swept her up with their kitten pressed between them. Mud and remnants of the puddle now smeared both women's shirts and Catra couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her chest. She still hated water but that didn't matter so much anymore. Not with the wriggling boy held between her and her wife.

 **2.**  
It was a sunny afternoon and the Best Friend Squad was enjoying a rare day where there wasn't any mission or castle project or kingdom emergency that needed their attention. It was probably going to be the last for a while as Glimmer was almost due with her and Bow's baby and any extra time the expectant parents had was going to be non-existent. The friends had decided to go on a picnic without leaving the castle grounds- because of Glimmer- and settled on the edge of the lake.

Adora was talking to Finn, who was toddling around the red blanket spread out on the grass, and trying to entice his first word out by bribery. She was holding out a soft cookie for him to eat while sounding out different words like _'Mama'_ or _'Horse'_ or _'Sword'_ with each bite.

She purposely ignored Catra's snickers on the sidelines.

Catra hadn't been too successful at getting Finn's first words either. She had even attempted _'Auntie Sparkles'_ when Glimmer tried getting Finn to say her name.

When Adora ran out of cookie Finn lost interest. She sighed in defeat for now and turned to talk to Glimmer about the excitement of the first royal baby that was gripping the kingdom. In the meantime, Finn rolled around on the blanket for a minuet, chasing a sun spot that filtered through the tree limbs above them. He pounced Catra's tail and tumbled against Bow's knees causing the group to chuckle at his playful antics.

 _'Uncle Bow'_ reached out to put the little bundle of fur back on his feet and instead Finn crawled into his lap. The boy reached out to pull at Bow's nose and ears, which held no end of fascination, for whatever curious reason. Then taking everyone by surprise...

"Bo-Bo...Bo-Bo-Bo...Bo-Bo..." Finn babbled in an excited tone as he patted Bow's surprised face with a giggle. The boy was unaware of the growing indignation of his parents and aunt as he continued to repeat Bow's name quite happily.

For his part, Bow could only tighten the hug he had on the small boy, as Finn was his only protection for the moment against three very upset women.

 **3.**  
The bed was comfortable. The pillow was comfortable. The body next to her was comfortable. Getting up was not something she wanted to do at the moment. It was unfortunate that Finn had other ideas. Catra's ear twitched as the boy started to whimper in his crib. The tired woman tried to ignore the sounds of his pouty sniffles. He would go back to sleep. _'Please let him go back to sleep.'_ At the release of his first wavering wail Catra let out an annoyed groan.

Sitting up Catra looked over to see what had caused her son to be awake at this ungodly hour before dawn. Personally she blamed Glimmer. Auntie Glim had joined Finn in napping earlier and let him sleep too long. Now he was awake and standing in his bed and watching his mother expectantly.

Finn looked from Catra to the floor and back again, his blue eyes watery. She glanced down and immediately saw the problem. His stuffed dragon, a favorite cuddle companion, was on the floor. Bow's dads had given it to him for his first birthday and had been delighted to hear of the affection shown to the toy. The green plushie had promptly been dubbed "Chompy" by Adora and the name stuck. With a sigh Catra slipped out of bed without disturbing Adora, picked up the dragon, and laid both it and Finn back down.

Fully intent on going back to sleep, Catra crawled back under the blanket, and closed her eyes. Her ear twitched when she heard a soft _'whomp'_ and a few seconds later Finn started to whimper again.

Cracking one eye open she peered around to her son where he was standing against the bars of his crib and making unpleasant whining noises. Sure enough Chompy was on the floor again. Catra had half a mind to leave the thing there- if not for the fact that Adora was sound asleep and Finn crying over his missed toy was a stupid reason for her to be woken up. Especially after just getting back from Frosta's frozen Northern kingdom.

Catra got up for the second time, picked up the stuffed creature, and put it in bed with Finn. She glared at the boy for a second to make sure he stayed down, Then backed slowly toward the bed before turning around to cuddle back in her previously warm spot.

Her head barely touched the pillow when she heard the _'whomp'_ sound again. "You've got to be kidding me..." Catra ground out under her breath.

"You want some help?" Adora whispered sleepily, having been woken despite Catra's best efforts.

"No," Catra huffed out, "he started this with me and I'll finish it." Even though Adora was usually the best choice to get Finn to sleep Catra took this as a challenge of wills: _Mother vs. Son_.

Flipping the blankets off Catra got out of bed with her eyes locked onto Finn. He was watching her and grinning like it was the best time he could imagine for games. She almost stalked over to where the dragon was helpless on the ground and picked it up. With a little more force in her energy Catra made Finn lay down in bed and firmly placed his buddy in his arms.

Laying a hand on his chest to feel the calm rise and falls of his breathing Catra remained ready and waiting at the side of his bed. Finn tried to get up and she would lay him back down. He would try to get her to play by pulling at her fingers or nuzzling her arm. She would put a stop to that too. After three or four attempts the idea this wasn't playtime began to sink in. Catra let her fingers smooth over the fine fur of his cheek and softly scratch behind one dark ear. A purr started deep in her chest to match Finn's contentment.

Finally, he buried his face in Chompy's wings, and his eyes slowly drooped closed. Catra stood there for a couple of minuets before going back to bed. Yes, she was basking in victory, but also found she never really tired of the sight before her. The little fuzzy kitten with her ears and tail but Adora's sparkling blue eyes. Purring in his sleep and nuzzled into his favorite toy.

 **4.**  
Adora was exhausted as she trudged through the halls of Brightmoon. A storm had taken out several port towns along the coast and she had left to help a couple of days ago. She-Ra wasn't just a legendary warrior and fighter. She was also rather adept at search and rescue missions too. Swiftwind had helped carry the injured to the medical areas at a much quicker speed, and she worked the ground, helping to lift wind strewn rubble.

It was good work for them to do and they had been very much needed in the worst hit parts of the seaside. There was nothing like coming home though.

Pushing her bedroom door open Adora saw Glimmer and Finn. The very pregnant queen looked to be trying and failing to put her nephew down for a nap. With a tired smile at Glimmer's attempts Adora walked into the room and immediately gained her son's enthusiastic attention.

"Adora? You're back." Glimmer greeted with a tired sigh of her own. She let Finn scramble out of her arms and over to his mother.

The blonde scooped up the wiggling little boy and hugged him tight. "Hey, Finn, thanks for the hug." She smiled up at Glimmer. "Hey, Glimmer. Things on the coast are off to a good start." Adora reported over Finn's head as he buried his face in her shoulder. She walked over to the bed and flopped down, Finn still snuggled in her arms.

Glimmer smiled and stood up from her spot in the rocking chair. "That's great. Thank you for heading over there, Adora." The tired warrior gave a weak thumbs up and her hand was immediately grabbed onto by Finn, who pulled it down to play with her fingers. "Catra's in a meeting right now. One of the ones Bow and her kicked me out of because apparently I don't have to take every meeting right now." Glimmer told her with an exasperated shrug.

Adora chuckled and lifted Finn away from her chest with one hand and balanced the boy in the air. She was rewarded with bubbly, excited, laughter. "You gotta be careful, Glimmer. You cant over work yourself."

"Pfft, I don't think you can say anything like that to me." The queen scoffed with a laugh as she headed out the bedroom door. "I'll go let Catra know you're home. It's about time I go save her from the politicians anyway."

Nearly 15 minutes later Catra jogged up to the door of her and Adora's room. The second Glimmer whispered in her ear that Adora was back she couldn't think about anything else but being wrapped in that warm embrace again. She twisted the doorknob and stepped into the room with a wide grin- ready to give her love a very enthusiastic welcome home. Instead, Catra smiled softly at what greeted her.

Adora was dead asleep, sprawled across the bed, and Finn was snuggled comfortably into one side as her arm curled around his back. Catra walked over and curled into Adora's other side with a contented purr. "Welcome home," she softly whispered. When she felt the hand on her back Catra nuzzled closer.

 **5.**  
Adora grinned excitedly as she swung Finn around to land on her shoulders. It was one of the first warm spring days of the year and the boy was finally big enough and the blonde had begged Catra long enough for Finn to go on his first flight.

The boastful alicorn met the pair outside the castle, near the stables, where he always had a stall open and waiting for him. He had been waiting just as long as Adora for Catra to give permission for their young son to fly with him. Melog had the luck to be the first companion to receive an introduction to the kid but as Finn got older and more mobile he also loved to get rides on Swiftwind's back- with Adora there, of course.

"Hey, Swifty, you ready?" Adora greeted her winged partner. Finn squealed with delight and wriggled on his mother's shoulders at seeing his horse friend.

"I'm always ready for ADVENTURE!" Swiftwind exclaimed and ruffled his colorful wings above Finn's head playfully. The boy laughed and nearly threw himself off Adora's shoulders, uncaring of the fall he could've had, if not for her grip on his legs.

The woman winced at the close call before even leaving the ground and readjusted her hands around her son. She chuckled and just shook her head. "You've been spending too much time with Sea Hawk, my friend." Adora moved Finn into her arms and Swifty happily nuzzled the boy in his chest.

"Nonsense," Swiftwind huffed with a laugh. "There's never too much adventure."

With another shake of her head Adora merely grinned and sat Finn on the wide, white, back of the winged horse. The toddler leaned forward and wrapped his arms around as much of the horse as he could. Swiftwind quieted down and smiled tenderly at his miniscule rider. It had taken a long while but once Adora placed Finn on his back for the first time Swiftwind had fallen in love with the boy.

Adora climbed on behind the young kitten, and Swifty started slow at her request, which was- of course- requested by Catra before they left that morning.  


Which meant walking.

Which turned into a slow trot.

Which, finally, led to a leap into the air and a flapping of wings to send the trio skyward.

Gripping tightly to her son Adora kept her eyes on him every second- ready to call the flight off the moment he showed fear or distress. Initially, the boy was breathless at the windy take-off, but as Swiftwind leveled out the biggest grin spread across Finn's face. Blue eyes lit up as the wind swept past his little pointed ears and he let out squeaky giggles with every wing flap.

"No loop-de-loops." Adora warned seriously as she sensed her companion's rising excitement and knew his favorite move couldn't be far off. She was just as happy that Finn was taking to flying so easily but also knew that Catra would kill her, She-Ra or not, if her wife ever found out she let Swiftwind do the twisty move with Finn on his back.

The horse let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, yeah, of course." Totally not shifting his altitude to readjust his flight away from his usual maneuver.

 **6.**  
Something was wrong, Catra knew it. She watched Finn run after Glimmer's baby girl who was a year younger than him. On the surface it all seemed fine. The energetic toddler could run, sometimes faster than either her or Adora could keep their eyes on him. He climbed things with a natural ease and jumped gaps with reckless abandon. Even the thing that Catra hated more than anything, water, held no fear for the boy- even though swimming still eluded him.

However, Catra was noticing more and more, how quickly little Angie was catching up and surpassing Finn with her speech and understanding of boundaries. The healers didn't know why he was falling behind. They concluded there was nothing wrong with his ears, his brain, or his learning ability.

"It worries me, Adora." Catra quietly confessed. "Finn reminds me of you when you were little."

Adora grinned back, unaware of the concern whirling in her wife's mind. "You make it sound like being a young me is a bad thing."

Catra shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "Of course not, dummy. But..." she hesitated and flicked her ears in uncertainty.

"But what?" Adora asked, finally picking up the seriousness Catra's tone held.

"But, do you remember when we were kids? It used to take you forever to learn new stuff." The Magicat had her eyes down. It's not like she wanted to bring up the time when Adora struggled to learn how to lace her boots or when she had trouble getting used to new changes in a schedule. Those were days Shadow Weaver was especially hard on her 'pet project'.

With a sigh Adora turned away to watch Finn laugh wordlessly and jump off a garden bench.

The two kids were running zigzag around the grassy courtyard in some game that might've been tag if they cared about following rules. "Catch me. Catch me." Angie sung out loud and Finn was after her again without a word. Bow was nearby, also watching, while Glimmer was taking care of some castle business.

Adora knew it was true. Even though she'd tried to deny anything was off for a long time. Music seemed to help hold his attention and he enjoyed singing. Finn could speak, if someone made him, but his vocabulary was limited to basic words and phrases. Adora hated to think that it might be her fault if Finn had trouble like she did as a child. Speech hadn't been an issue for her... but Catra wasn't wrong either.

"Okay." She finally admitted. "What do we do?"

 **7.**  
Finn was crouched, ready to jump, seconds from splashing in the water. His intended target. "No! Finn, wait!" Catra yelled, jerking her son back from the edge of one of Mystacor's pools. He couldn't swim yet and the water here was deep.

"Splash." Finn explained in his limited way.

Trying hard to keep a growl out of her voice Catra let go of the boy's shirt. "No. No splash." For the hundredth time trying to explain that swimming without an adult around was a big Nope.

If it wasn't trying to throw himself into pools of water without waiting it was something else to give her and Adora heart attacks.

Only a week ago Adora told her about Finn climbing one of the library shelves til he was near the top. It had taken Auntie Glimmer teleporting up there to get the boy down. He had been balancing precariously between A History of Brightmoon encyclopedias and several historical tomes donated by George and Lance.

Bow once had asked to borrow Melog while babysitting Finn for an afternoon. It was suspicious but Catra knew the alien cat and her son were friends and figured Bow needed a playmate for the rowdy boy to run off some energy. It was only a few days later when Finn wandered out of the room by himself, because _'Surprise'_ he figured out how door locking worked now, that her and Adora learned that Bow lost Finn and needed Melog to sniff the child out before anyone noticed.

Catra sighed deeply as she watched the boy look at the water longingly. Adora was supposed to meet them here and take Finn swimming but she was running late. She probably ran into Castaspella or something.

"Hey guys, sorry about the wait."

Well, speaking of... Catra grinned at the arrival of her wife.

Finn's smile lit up when he saw Adora and bolted out of Catra's reach to greet his mother.

Unfortunately, running clumsy child plus wet stone, isn't a good combo. Halfway to Adora the toddler slipped and faceplanted on the hard ground. Both women rushed forward. The expected painful wails didn't come though. Finn sat up and his bloody lower lip trembled but his single-minded stubbornness shone through as he made a direct beeline for Adora's open arms.

A quick examination revealed one skinned knee and a busted lip from his fall. Neither of which seemed to deter the kitten, though his blue eyes welled with tears, and he wouldn't let either parent touch the tender places. He tugged on Adora's shirt with a pout. "Splash. Please."

 **8.**  
Catra and Adora each held one of Finn's hands as they walked down the wide dirt path. He would jump and swing, holding onto their hands, every few steps. Colorful tents had been erected and there was food and games and music. People from all over Brightmoon and the surrounding kingdoms seemed to be gathered in the large field where the festival was going on. Adora wasn't quite sure but she thought it might be celebrating the harvest, or it could be the one to mark the defeat of Horde Prime, or the joining of all the kingdoms in actual peace.

...In her defense, Brightmoon had a lot of parties and festivals, and they all kinda bunched together after a while.

In the center of it all was a big open space. This is where the lively music was coming from. A stage sat in the middle and a band was playing to an even larger crowd of people who were twirling and dancing on the grassy plain. Tables and benches were off to the side for any tired dancers that needed a break.

Finn's ears pricked up and his tail flicked excitedly when he heard the band and saw everyone dancing. Even though the non-verbal 4 year old couldn't sing most of the words to the songs he heard whatever music it was always had his rapt attention. "Mama," Finn pulled his hand from Catra's and pointed, indicating exactly where he wanted to go.

Catra and Adora smiled at each other. They knew Finn would be excited about this part of the festival. With a gentle flick on his forehead as a reminder Catra rolled her eyes at the boy. "Use words, Finn."

Not missing a beat Finn tried to pull out of Adora's grip next, but she held on, merely letting him tug at her. "Mama, dance," he said finally, after failing to move either parent on his own.

Now that he'd asked Adora finally let her son pull her towards the crowd of dancers. Catra stayed behind, not a fan of close crowds, or making a spectacle of herself. She watched the two loves of her life spin and move and very obviously ignore the music's beat to create their own dances. Once or twice her heart sped up as Adora tossed Finn over her head, letting the boy fly a good 3 or 4 feet in the air, before easily catching him again. Each time was rewarded with peals of laughter- So it never bothered him.

After a while Adora came to sit next to Catra on one of the benches, laughing breathlessly. "Come dance with us, Catra." She offered. That was a quick "No" in response. Finn was a few feet away, he was watching the other people, and trying to copy their dance moves. if they spun around then so would Finn. If they sidestepped, well, he was only a beat behind.

The two women sat and watched their son. He didn't have a partner to dance with but that didn't stop him. A few minutes later the band started playing a slower song, couples started pairing off, and taking each other's hands.

Finn looked around at this, saw his Moms, and rushed over. The excited child glanced over his shoulder once to make sure he was doing it right. Then he grabbed onto Catra's hand, copied the bowing move he had seen, and tried to pull her to stand. "Mama, dance." Without even hesitating Catra stood up and allowed her child to lead her out to the dance area.

She may be in love with Adora, a woman she gave her heart and life to, but there was only one guy she'd easily give up her soul and eternity for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next and last chapter is planned to be out in the next 2 or 3 days... barring the fates letting me.


	3. So... There Was A Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes being a parent is fun and sunshine.
> 
> Sometimes being a parent is hard and dark.
> 
> The last chapter of Finn's story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm horrible at setting deadlines. 😐
> 
> I had this written a few days ago but then stalled and started second guessing myself.  
> Should I post this?  
> Should I not post it?  
> Should I rewrite it to be more fluff?
> 
> But...
> 
> In for a penny, in for a pound.  
> I started this as a personal story of my experiences and life doesn't shy away from the darkness.  
> If you hate me afterwards, I understand. Me writing this did its job.
> 
> Warning: This is gonna go dark. All kinda Trigger Warnings apply.

**1.**

It was a sunny and warm afternoon in Brightmoon. Probably one of the last really good days to go on a fun picnic before cold weather set in. Glimmer and Bow had both Angie and little Axel, along with Finn, who had slept over the night before. Adora was on a diplomatic visit with Scorpia, Entrapta, and Darla to one of the nearby planets. Catra had stayed behind but was deep in discussions with a delegation from the Northern Reach.

Letting Finn spend time with Auntie Glim and Uncle Bow was an easy choice. The two older kids were chasing each other around the grassy plain while baby Axel was crawling around the picnic blanket. Bow was getting lunch ready. Glimmer was playing with Axel and looking out for any important messages on the tracker pad. Adora should be sending an update any time now and Catra would be asking.

"Mama," Glimmer looked up to see her daughter standing next to her and sporting a pouty frown. "Finn went splash without me."

Glimmer froze and her brows furrowed. "What do you mean Finn went splash, Angie?" Her gaze swept where the two were running around a huge rock her daughter had dubbed a mountain. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she didn't see the young Magicat boy. She waited for Angie to answer.

"Finn went splash." The little girl repeated. "I told him no." She added nervously, feeling the spike of anxiety and fear from her mother.

Glimmer had spent enough time with Finn and knew enough of the boy's speech patterns to know what "Splash" meant. The only water around for him to splash in was...

"Moons, no!"

It almost sounded like a prayer as Glimmer turned to the nearby lake. She screamed as she ran. She called for Finn. She called for Bow. She called for help from the stars themselves. The queen reached the lake edge in seconds. "Where, Angie?! Where did Finn get in the water?" Her young daughter had run after her but the frantic yelling was making her confused and scared. Angie couldn't answer.

Hearing his wife's frantic screams and seeing her mad rush over to the edge of the water with Angie in tow. Leaping up Bow had the presence of mind to scoop up Axel. He ran over to where Glimmer was, hearing the question directed at the frightened child, and quickly put the pieces together.

Not wasting a second more the king, and former rebellion fighter, shoved his young son into his wife's arms and shimmied up a tree that overhung the shallows. His wide and worried gaze swept the clear shallow water near the shore. Then it felt like his heart free fell from from space when he finally spotted the boy.

**2.**

Catra hadn't left the infirmary in three days. She could barely be convinced to take 15 minuets to shower once she'd taken up her vigil at Finn's bedside. Three times a day a healer would come in with Castaspella to reinforce the rune etched on his chest that kept Finn's tiny heart beating and they would check to see if there was any chance he would wake up.

Each time Catra would watch their movements with fearful trepidation.

Glimmer and Bow were a constant presence in the room also but Catra barely acknowledged them. She watched for any sign of change. She ran her fingers over Finn's ears and hair, trying to coax him back herself.

When she was alone Catra talked. She bargained. She threatened. She pleaded. "I don't even know who I'm talking to." She cried out at one point. "Whoever or whatever controls people's destiny. Whatever fates decided to put me and Adora together, whatever decided we would grow up orphans in the Horde, and then try to kill each other for years on the opposite sides of a war... whoever gave us Finn... please don't take him now. His destiny cant be only this."

For three long, anxious days, there was no answer. Then Adora burst into the room.

Catra jerked her head up from where it was resting on the edge of the bed and seeing her wife leapt, bawling, into her arms. The fact that Glimmer had followed her in and was witness to the display held no meaning for the usually private woman.

After calling Castaspella to explain everything that they'd been doing. Adora nodded in acknowledgement. Her eyes had been glued to her son since the moment Catra jumped into her arms. They raked over his very still and very fragile form. The blonde took a deep breath to steady herself and walked over to where Finn lay.

Catra watched every move, the whole of her insides shaking, as Adora drew from the power of She-Ra. The magical goddess healed the whole planet. Surely waking up one little boy was a piece of cake. Adora's hand glowed as she pressed it to Finn's chest. Her eyes glowed an intense bright blue as they locked onto her son's sleeping face. It lasted a lot longer than Catra ever remembered She-Ra's healing taking before.

Adora frowned in concentration and her hands started to shake but she kept pouring power and energy into trying to heal the small body. After a few minuets with no reaction or change Glimmer was in tears and clinging to Catra. Castaspella had to step forward on her own to lay a halting hand on Adora's arm.

"She-Ra is a strong warrior and her power is vast." Casta said, her voice shaking as Adora turned pleading stormy eyes onto the older sorceress, and Catra wrapped her arms around herself. "But even she cannot restore what is no longer there. I'm sorry, dear ones. Finn is gone."

**3.**

Chompy sat on Finn's small bed. The stuffed creature was waiting for the boy to come back.

He'd been gone for a long time. The longest time the two had been separated since the dragon had been gifted to the very young cat-boy. Ever since, the two had gone everywhere together.

When Finn had been sick and spent the night in the castle infirmary Chompy was there to cuddle him back to health. When Finn fell off a garden bench and scraped his knees Chompy had been there to soak up his tears until he felt better. When the family moved from the castle to the small house near the woods Chompy was there for every adventure. The dragon snuggled with Melog on warm afternoons. He flew with Swiftwind, and fell from Swiftwind, more times than Chompy would admit to.

Chompy waited for his friend to come back and tell him all about the adventure he had. Finn didn't talk much to other people but the dragon could understand the boy perfectly. Finally the bedroom door opened but it wasn't Finn who rushed in with his bright smile and glinting blue eyes. It was the moms. They came in together, clinging to each other, like Finn would do to him.

He missed the little boy who pulled him by his tail and shared veggies with at dinner. Never fish though. Finn would never share his fish.

The two women stood in the center of the room and looked around. They spoke softly to each other and then one looked over to him. The one that swept through the air each time Finn would drop him from the clouds and pluck him from the free-fall. She knelt by the small-sized bed and grabbed Chompy up in her arms.

It wasn't a hug from Finn but Chompy felt that he was desperately needed at this moment. When her grey eyes filled with tears and she hid them away in his soft wings he knew something had changed.

He still didn't know what had happened or why Finn had been missing but Finn's family was his family and if they needed hugs and cuddles then that's what his stuffing was for.

**4.**

Adora was angry. No. That wasn't enough. She had no words for the darkness fighting its way up her throat. She clenched her teeth against it but forced her face to remain lax. Glimmer was right next to her although distractedly talking to Mermista. The problem was there was no one to direct her anger at.

It was nothing that either Glimmer or Mermista had said or done. It was just this free flowing feeling of jealousy and anger. The two had been discussing a new trade route that Sea Hawk had wanted to map out, maybe getting She-Ra involved to fend off any sea monsters, but then the conversation turned to Mermista's upcoming baby shower. The water princess, or most recently Sea Queen, was a few months into her first pregnancy. That's when Adora felt her temperature rise and her ears started ringing.

The problem was her anger had no direction. No vindication.

What was Adora gonna do? Take revenge on the lake? On Glimmer, who held enough blame over herself already? "She's been waking up to nightmares about that day." Bow had confided in Adora once and the blonde was ashamed to say she felt better at hearing that Glimmer suffered too.

No. There was only one person to blame and that was herself.

She'd been traveling off planet. If she'd been there...if it hadn't been for her leaving...she could've been there to watch over Finn. She could've used She-Ra's healing powers right away instead of arriving 3 days too late.

Adora suppressed a shiver as she remembered that moment on Darla. Communication in space was tricky and the message from Catra was patchy at best. "Adora, you have to come... Something happened... It's Finn..." Things went hazy after that. The three days travel turning into one long nightmare of anxiety. Entrapta had tried raising the comm system in Brightmoon again but she said there was some kind of space flare messing with the array.

Unknowingly Glimmer and Mermista continued to talk about the problems with trying to raise kids and run a kingdom at the same time. Adora clenched her jaw tight.

Her heartbeat thundered in her chest as, for the moment, the darkness was content to wreath itself around in her chest. She couldn't let it out, not on her undeserving friends. It turned cold and she shivered involuntarily.

**5.**

Catra flicks her ears. She's trying desperately to ignore Glimmer. To make that whiney voice fade into the background. If Catra can just focus on this document in front of her and not the words carelessly falling out of her friend's mouth.

She has to tell herself that Glimmer doesn't know what she's talking about. Catra's just glad that Adora isn't here right now and listening to this. The blonde likes to put on a brave face but Catra can see how much pain she internalizes for the sake of appearing "fine".

Hearing Glimmer complain about having to somehow split her time between Angie, Axel, and running the kingdom like it was all some inconvenient problem that needed solving would probably break the crumbling wall Adora had hastily constructed around that pained part of herself. Not even Catra knew the levels of pent up darkness and hurt that Adora had behind that wall.

Catra was no open book herself but she at least was able to vent to Scorpia on occasion. When she lashed out on the undeserving it was almost expected. The large scorpion woman was a princess, true, but understood Catra to a level none of the others did. Only Adora knew her on a deeper level. Scorpia was sworn to secrecy, even from Perfuma, but it allowed Catra to get some of the weight off her chest when it felt too crushing.

"...And then Bow left his paints out and Angie found them. Now several hallways and one of the meeting rooms have been 'redecorated' in yellow and red." Glimmer moaned in frustration. "I know she has a lot of energy but me and Bow cant always stop what we're doing to play with her."

Catra'd had enough. She slammed the folder with the afternoon meetings closed with a definite thump. "I think you have a family emergency to deal with, Your Majesty. As such the afternoon meetings will have to be rescheduled." Catra growled out. Stressing the use of Glimmer's title to indicate how much agitation was simmering under her fur.

Glimmer looked confused. "What emergency?" She asked, her brows drawing together in thought. Maybe there was something going on she hadn't heard about yet.

The Magicat stood up from the table and was already walking out the door to inform several big-egoed officials they'd been booted for the day. "I don't care." Catra exclaimed over her shoulder. "Make something up when you spend the afternoon with your kids. Be glad you get to have troubles with time management."

She didn't stick around to hear Glimmer's guilty reply.

**6.**

A million stars dotted the night sky alongside three of Etheria's moons. It was clear and cool out, an early sign that summer was drawing to a close, and Adora couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. The blonde was finding it difficult to enjoy much these days.

Chompy, the stuffed dragon Finn had since his 1st birthday, was clutched protectively to Adora's chest. She sat on the grass by the wide lake outside of Brightmoon and stared up at the cold stars so far overhead. The house was too quiet, it was almost stifling. Catra was buried in paperwork setting up some delegation for trade deals with Glimmer. Not being able to stand dealing with the imagined noise that was missing Adora left.

In the silence of late nights, when she couldn't sleep because of the dark thoughts plaguing her mind, Adora could sometimes imagine that Finn was still there. The blonde gripped Finn's dragon and buried her face into the fluff. Trying to hide the dry sob that escaped her throat. What was she here for anymore? If her purpose was to be She-Ra and She-Ra couldn't even save one small child then... why couldn't Adora walk out into the water right now and join Finn? Her heart hurt, all the time, and she kept seeing him everywhere.

Adora was used to Finn following her as she went through her morning training. She was used to laughter in the afternoon as they would play. She was used to Catra helping Finn with his speech after coming home from Brightmoon and her daily meetings. Now the house was too silent and too empty. She felt empty.

How could her heartbeat feel hollow and heavy at the same time? Everything felt tainted by grief and loss. Even days that were good.

Angie's birthday wasn't long ago and of course Adora and Catra couldn't ignore their niece on her 5th birthday. The familiar pull of tears made her eyes burn as Adora remembered the pitying expressions of other parents, the way Glimmer kept paying the two of them special attention and asking if things were ok, or was it too much? Adora was annoyed at the time and she could see that Catra was getting angry. As if the two women would crumble into piles of despair in the middle of Angie's birthday party.

Most things were like that now. Expressions of pity. Timid apologies for their loss. Adora and Catra being reminded again and again that Finn would never have another day spent following them around. He would never climb trees or race across the fields outside the castle. Adora would never teach him to fight and Catra would never show him the best ways to sneak around in the dark.

They didn't just lose their 5 year old.

They lost him at every age and milestone that would've come after.

**7.**

Adora didn't quite know what to do.

Some part of her that was buried for the last year suddenly had a little light shine on it.

That little light was Axel. The rowdy two year old had been trying to follow his older sister around the dining room all through Glimmer's visit for tea to check on her two friends. One year was approaching fast and it was affecting everyone differently.

"How are you doing, Adora?" Glimmer asked in one of the quiet moments when the kids were in the other room. She didn't want to broach the subject of Finn while Angie was around. It was already hard enough to get her daughter to understand she couldn't play with Finn anymore.

The blonde plastered an obviously fake grin on her face. "Yeah...No...I'm fine." Adora paused and looked down into the tea cup and the dark liquid that was only half drunk. "It's- it's just rough with the anniversary coming and all. Catra's gone quiet too."

Glimmer hmm'd in acknowledgement. She'd seen the same.

After tea and several more minutes of catching up Glimmer called the kids over to say goodbye to Aunt 'Dora. Angie changed direction mid-charge and jumped into Adora's arms with a squeal.

Chuckling halfheartedly at the energetic display Adora swung the girl around and brought her close for a hug. Angie landed a kiss on her cheek but was quick in wiggling down to the floor again. Young Axel tried to run past Adora but the blonde scooped him up in a tight hug. The boy was known for slipping away without proper "Aunt and Uncle goodbyes".

Expecting the same swift squeeze and peck on the cheek Adora kept her grip loose so Axel could shimmy down and join his sister. What actually happened was a tired two year old taking the opportunity to lay his head down on his aunt's shoulder. His tiny arms wrapped around Adora's neck.

Adora froze for a full heartbeat. She closed her eyes and reveled in the remembered feeling of having a fragile little body snuggle into her. In the last year she'd had other hugs from Angie and Axel: bouncy glomps, hug and runs, clinging to legs or arms. This was the first time Adora could remember since the loss of Finn that she'd had a real lasting hug from a child.

It nearly broke what feeble resolve she had.

She tightened her hands around the lightweight toddler. For just a moment Adora felt that ever-present chain around her heart uncoil and it could beat properly again.

**8.**

"What do you mean leave, Catra?" Adora asked, brow furrowing. She looked at her wife in confusion as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Catra flicked her tail nervously. She didn't look up. She couldn't face those questioning grey eyes. "I've been trying all this time to force myself to be okay... to move forward." Sighing, Catra focused on her hands tugging at a string on the blanket. "But, I'm not." She sucked in a breath and tried to keep her voice steady. 

Adora stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed almost protectively around herself.

"Being here is hard. Being in Brightmoon, around Glimmer, even focused on work. I can hardly think. It's too hard being around you." The Magicat paused to collect herself again. "I see you and all I see is Finn and my heart is broken over again."

Catra fell silent and waited...for what, she wasn't sure. Adora had every right to rant and scream at what Catra had decided for herself. Instead there was a slight shift at the end of the bed as Adora sank down. Catra noted is was just out of her reach.

There was a heaviness in the room that was nearly suffocating. So far Adora hadn't said anything about the idea of Catra leaving the kingdom of Brightmoon for awhile.

No. It wasn't running.

It was taking time to get her head on straight. To process on her own, in ways she never could with the Best Friend Squad hanging around. Should she have told Adora sooner than a week before she planned to leave? Probably. She just didn't want any delays or second guessing. The sooner she got all this out of her head the sooner she could come back. At least, that was Catra's thoughts on the matter. After the second longest minuet of her life Adora turned to face her and Catra dragged her mismatched eyes up to meet stormy grey.

Several false starts and deep breaths took place before words managed to form on Adora's tongue. "Okay." It sounded to Catra like the word was dragged out by force. "Okay, fine. If that's what you need to do..." 

Catra felt her heart drop like weighted stone. Adora's tone was so defeated. She could count on one hand the times Adora had sounded like she hadn't a hope left in the world and a different kind of concern etched itself in the furrows between her brows. In the end Catra couldn't get Adora to talk to her anymore about it though.

The week passed with Catra at arms length. She set up several final meetings for Glimmer, telling the royal couple of her plans, and told them to keep an eye out for Adora.

Then one morning, with nothing but a travel pack, Catra was gone. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Austin, who this fic is dedicated to:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/kawaiiwolf2002/art/Love-You-Forever-861127491
> 
> (someone tell me how to include pics in chapters)
> 
> I'll Love You Forever  
> I'll Like You For Always  
> As Long As I'm Living  
> My Baby You'll Be.


End file.
